Changes to the starting lineup...

How many of Y'all think we should start Samaki and bring Madsen and Horry off the bench. Also, don't you think we should move Slava to the Center postition to battle Rasho as Shaq's back up in place of Samaki? That way we have Samaki's strength and shot blocking (he is more effective when he starts, look at his stats last year as the starter) so that Medvedenko can play about 8-10 minutes a game behind the Big Fella and contribute? The Wolves have no one at Center that would require the defensive prowess of Madsen or Walker anyway. We can switch Slava to PF and Madsen or Walker to C for the Spurs or Kings or Mavs series, but I think we need to involve Slava's jump shot to make our game that much easier...JUST A THOUGHT!

I think the starting lineup w/ Fisher, Bryant, George, Horry & Shaq is perfect. Veteran players along w/ an added youth. Honestly, sliding Slava in there is a joke. He is always lost out there, and w/ the added pressure of the playoffs, he'll just ruin the tempo. He just doesn't seem ready to play. Heck, Rush and Pargo play like veterans out there as compared to Slava. Just my opinion.

Well, I think you misunderstood his point. I agree, we need to maximize our roster now that we have no Rick Fox. Shaq plays between 35 and 41 minutes a game. When he rests, we use Samaki Walker. I like Horry, but he is more effective off the bench. We need to give Horry 20 minutes a game, Samaki 15 minutes a game and Madsen 13 minutes a game @ PF. If we do that, they should all get into a good rythm as the game goes on. We can't risk Samaki guarding the centers because that is where we usually rack up fouls. What we should do, not only to conserve Samaki's (and thusly Horry's and Madsen's) energy is to put Slava in when Shaq sits down. He can give us a center that can defend adequately (sometimes even well), drive to the basket, rebound and shoot from the perimeter. We only need him for between 7 and 13 minutes a game. I know a lot of you guys think he isn't good enough for the playoffs, but he is longer, leaner and more athletic than Mad Dog and he shoots WAY BETTER than Mark AND Samaki, so he can energize our team. Laugh if you want to, but IMHO he has displayed the ability to play well in limited minutes even against first rate competition and that is all we need him to do. He can even use all of his fouls if he wants to. It doesn't matter, the object is to get Shaq rest and still keep the guys defending Webber/Nowitzki/Duncan/Stoudamire from getting fouls and fatigue guarding centers when we need them to get fouls and fatigue guarding the Power Forwards.

The reason why Slava's lost out there is cuz of his lack of minutes. He barely gets n e time to show what he's got, yet when he's given time, he chokes up, and looks lost. The same thing with Madsen. He got time to shine, and he seized the moment and that's why he gets more play than Samaki and Slava, cuz he does what they don't...

I would start Madsen before Walker anyday now. Madsen has gained so much more confidence since the beginning of the year and has even proven that he can shoot the ball at times. He has been playing many more minutes of late than Samaki and therefore I think he would know what to do a little bit more.

Hey, if you want to see something interesting, check out my mathematical analysis of the PF position and which depth priority would yield maximum results in points and rebounds (two most crucial PF stats), you might be surprised!

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Well I think the starting line up we have right now is just fine especially with DEVEAN GEORGE he really has stept up his game. By the ways did u see that alley-oop by Devean it was beautiful I hope he's okay though he landed pretty hard on his butt.

HAVING SAMAKI TO PUSH DUNCAN AROUND IS A GOOD IDEA. THE SIX FOULS WILL COME IN HANDY FOR HIM SINCE, DUNCAN IS NOT THAT GOOD OF A FREE THROW SHOOTER. I LOVE THE WAY THEY DOUBLE TEAMED GARNETT CONSISTENLY WITH THEIR DEFENSIVE ROTATION IN GAMES 5 AND 6. HOPEFULLY, WE CAN HAVE THE SAME EFFECT WITH DUNCAN.

Hey, if we are going to double team duncan, I think we should bring in Slava to do it. Then at least we can make Tim come out from the paint to defend Slava's outside shot. That would make our offensive spacing better and it would allow Shaq to be singled on David Robinson, a major mismatch.

Yes, Samaki has always played Duncan very, very well...

And Slava should get at least 10 minutes a game in this series because as the suns proved, the best way (besides trapping in the double team) to get to Duncan's offense is to make him play defense and Slava would draw him out to the perimeter and take away his shot blocking presence. But I guess that is just IMHO!

Sorry but I disagree. Slava may have an outside shot, but he tends to choke under pressure. Hell, the rookies look better out there!! In my opinion, I'd play Samaki Walker on Duncan and have him work for his shots. And on offense, just keep feeding the big fella and wear Duncan down.

Looks like we may not have much choice now, if Deaven has to go out for any length of time...we may have to play Walker and Slava!!! Let's just hope someone from the bench can step up in a huge way on Wednesday (and for the rest of the playoffs for that matter)!!!

I'm really sad about these past two injuries the Lakers have just been through first its Foxxy now its Devean. All I know is that Lakers bench is going to have to step up. We'll see how the new starting line up will work on wednesday's game. I'm sure Phill know what hes doing after all hes won 9 championships and going for 10.

WALKER NEEDS TO READ KOBES BEAUTIFUL PASSES BETTER
HES A BIT SLOW
WHEN HE WSA IN PERFECT POSITION
KEEP YOUR EYE ON TEH BALL SAMAKI!

Yes, I still say we start Walker, we can always goto Horry when needed, we need to let people like Walker, raise their intensity, to elevate their game... I say stick Walkers [Swearing is not permitted at Clublakers. You must edit this post prior to submitting.] on the MVP and we should be fine... People don't forget he played pretty well against Duncan in last year's playoffs, he's been in this pressure situation before, we need him to step up.

Lakers Dynasty 2000 wrote:Yes, I still say we start Walker, we can always goto Horry when needed, we need to let people like Walker, raise their intensity, to elevate their game... I say stick Walkers [Swearing is not permitted at Clublakers. You must edit this post prior to submitting.] on the MVP and we should be fine... People don't forget he played pretty well against Duncan in last year's playoffs, he's been in this pressure situation before, we need him to step up.

HE PLAYED YESTERDAY AGAISNT DUNCAN
........
DIDNT DO TOO GOOD

Well let him get into his groove... He hasn't played much... true, but we need him and others to get out of the deep end of the bench, and get into the front of it, because were now down 2 important Lakers to this team - Fox & George...

someone should tell samaki his damn role. he consistently gets lost in the offense, and he think's he's shaq in the post. he needs to play the role of a distributor on the lakers and stop taking 12 foot hook shots. i'm not sayin he should shy away from shooting like madsen does, but be active and get second chance points and open looks when PF's come to help shaq in the paint.

BryantDunkGiant wrote:someone should tell samaki his damn role. he consistently gets lost in the offense, and he think's he's shaq in the post. he needs to play the role of a distributor on the lakers and stop taking 12 foot hook shots. i'm not sayin he should shy away from shooting like madsen does, but be active and get second chance points and open looks when PF's come to help shaq in the paint.

YEAH!
HE MISSES THOSE 12 FOOTERS
JUST FOLLOW ON TEH SHOTS SAMAKI......
GO SAMAKI!

"Sorry but I disagree. Slava may have an outside shot, but he tends to choke under pressure. Hell, the rookies look better out there!! In my opinion, I'd play Samaki Walker on Duncan and have him work for his shots. And on offense, just keep feeding the big fella and wear Duncan down."

When the hell has Slava played under pressure, let alone had the opportunity to choke? I disagree with that, and I disagree that the rookies look better out there, they just got ore minutes than Slava. Last I checked, we have D-Fish, Horry, Kobe and Shaq to take over late, so we need someone to give duncan trouble and force him to defend perimeter early in games to tire him late so he can't float like KG did defensively. Shaq, like in game 1, will only get about 4 1 on 1 looks against Duncan, (by Poppovich's design) and while he might be physical during those brief engagements, he can't wear him down if he doesn't see him enough. Samaki will wear down easily and madsen just can't compete, so we need someone with slava's size and offensive ability to take charges from tim and force him to play D. That is my opinion!

I guess we'll just have to see once game time hits.... I'm nervous as ever!! I have much confidence that the Lakers have enough in them to prevail, but I just hope that our rookies do their part. It's time to be players and not spectators. GAME 2 HERE WE COME!!

Hey, good point there. We can only wait and see if Slava gets an opportunity to prove himself when it counts. If we never give him a chance how the hell are we supposed to judge his value to the team. I have always felt that Slava never had (nor does he currently have) a fair shake and an opportunity to prove himself in crucial moments. It only takes a season of 15+ minutes a game to truly evaluate someone. We need to give him about 10 minutes a game and see where he is. If he becomes more of a liability after a few games, we can then (based on performance) choose to bench him. But I agree...all conjecture until the game hits!